Condensing smoke and gases



BLOOM. Treating Smoke from Furnaces.-

Patented Nov. 29.1853.

J. BLOOM, OF EAST VVOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS.

I CONDENSING SMOKE AND GASES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10,271, dated November 29, 1853.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J, BLOOM, of East Woburn, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Method of Annihilating or Absorbing Smoke; and I hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

A method of economically and effectually destroying smoke has long been a desideratum, which has been sought for in vain. Manufactories are driven from districts where they would be most profitably carried on, or are forced to build chimneys of immense height at great expense, to carry off the products of their fires, and in certain cases even these precautions have proved in sufficient to remedy the evil, and it is well known that all the measures which have been heretofore adopted have proved in efi'ectual to protect travelers upon railroads from the inconvenience and even danger resulting from the sparks and cinders carried up with the smoke of the locomotive. In order to obviate these and other inconveniences, I have contrived a method of destroying or absorbing smoke, by which not only the sparks and cinders are entirely extinguished, but the smoke itself, even though it'be of the most dense and suffocating character, is entirely annihilated, or at least rendered innoxious and inoffensive. V

The nature of my invention consists in passing the smoke through water, it being conducted in pipes to the hollow of a suitable reservoir, made air-tight, and nearly filled with water, which reservoir is kept constantly exhausted by air pumps.

To enable others skilled in the art to which this most nearly pertains, to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its nature and operation.

Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective view of the apparatus of which I make use to accomplish the desired end.

A, is the furnace furnished with a valve or clapper a, through which the smoke may be permitted to escape in the natural way when desired.

B is. a pipe of suitable dimensions running from the upper part of the chimney,

and which, bending at a right angle at 12, passes to within a few inches of the bottom of the reservoir C, which is filled with water to the line 61.

D D are air pumps constructed and operating in any well known and appropriate manner, by which means the space above the water in the air tight reservoir C, is kept constantly exhausted.

One corner of the reservoir C is broken away to show the descending smoke pipe B.

e is one of the connecting pipes leading.

from the reservoir to the air pump.

f, is a pipe through which water may be supplied to the reservoir. 1

g is a valve which when opened freely admits the air to the reservoir, and stops the operation of the apparatus, even though I the air pumps continue in motion.

h is the piston of one of the air pumps; 2', its valve. 7

Operation: After the description given above of the apparatus, it will be evident that when the valves a and g are closed, the

' fire lighted, and the air pumps set tov work, that the smoke will be drawn through the pipe B, and that after it escapes from the bottom of the descending branch, it will pass through the water to the surface of the liquid, the continued operation of the pumps drawing itoff completely washed or strained, as it were, of every noxious or offensive property. When it is desired to utilize the products of combustion, which products at the same time may be injurious to animal and vegetable life, certain acid or alkaline solutions may be made to take the place of the water ordinarily employed.

It will be seen that great power will not be required to drivethe air pumps ofthis apparatus, as their operation is aided and in no case retarded by the draft of the chimney itself.

Dis claimer.

I do not claim the use of revolving fans or blowers for the purpose of forcing air or smoke down through water for the purpose of purifying thesame, as this has been tried before and found incapable of producing the desired result, the fan being powerless for the production of pressure to any practicable or useful extent and will not answer for the purpose; but

my signature this twenty-fifth day of What I do claim as new, and which I de- March, A. D one thousandeight hundred sire to" secure by Letters Patent is,

Passing the smoke of furnace or other and fifty three; fires through Water, by means of air pumps, J. BLOOM. 5 in the manner described, and for the pur- Witnesses:

pose set forth. K J OHN S GLOW,

In testimony whereof I have heretc set t H. B. SPINNEY. 

